"The latest report from the UN independent fact-finding mission on the fall of El Fasher in Sudan reads like a postmortem of a preventable tragedy. The report details what it calls the hallmarks of genocide: mass killings, systematic sexual violence and ethnic cleansing targeting non-Arab communities by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The atrocities in El Fasher should have surprised no one in the international community. Western governments were warned repeatedly by civil society, humanitarian organisations, investigative journalists and their own agencies."
"In Britain, a whistleblower last year accused the Foreign Office of censoring internal warnings about imminent genocide. The US state department and members of the UN security council received continuous reporting from the Yale Humanitarian Research Lab documenting the RSF's military buildup and preparations to overrun the city. Senior US officials warned the Biden administration that El Fasher was at imminent risk. A security council resolution in 2024 called for an end to the siege."
"None of this prevented the city from being strangled. The clearest expression of the failure to act on information emerged in October 2025, when Washington hosted talks involving officials from the Sudanese government and the RSF. Just days after those discussions, the RSF captured El Fasher and began the massacres the UN has now documented. These talks did not prevent catastrophe. They provided political cover while it unfolded."
"The subsequent calls for a truce were issued without any acknowledgment of why they failed to prevent the assault. The silence reflects a hierarchy of priorities. Strategic relationships with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have been placed above civilian protection in Sudan. Multiple investigations, including leaked UN expert reports, have raised serious concerns about the UAE's role in sustaining the RSF through arms transfers, logistics networks and financial pipelines."
An independent UN fact-finding mission found hallmarks of genocide in El Fasher: mass killings, systematic sexual violence, and ethnic cleansing targeting non-Arab communities by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Western governments, humanitarian organisations, investigative journalists and intelligence units repeatedly warned of RSF military buildup and imminent danger. A British whistleblower accused the Foreign Office of censoring internal warnings. US and UN bodies received continuous documentation from the Yale Humanitarian Research Lab, and senior US officials warned of imminent risk. Washington-hosted talks in October 2025 preceded the RSF capture and massacre, providing political cover. Allegations implicate the UAE in sustaining the RSF through arms, logistics and finance.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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